The virtue of the month for Conquest and Challenge in December is perseverance. Although it is not usually associated with a Christmas virtue, it is very appropriate for the holiday season. Christmas is a time of peace, love, unity, generosity, charity, joy…. pretty much every virtue can be lived around Christmas time. This is where perseverance comes in. We need to persevere in order to be virtuous people because virtue is the habit of doing good – and habits come about because we repeat something over and over again, persevering and not giving up at the first difficulty. The kind of person who tends to give up when he faces difficulties lacks perseverance. When things do not come easily for him he gets frustrated and wants to quit rather than persist and work through the problem.
# 1810 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “Human virtues acquired by education, by deliberate acts and by a perseverance ever-renewed in repeated efforts are purified and elevated by divine grace. With God’s help, they forge character and give facility in the practice of the good. The virtuous man is happy to practice them.”